Casket pedestal



Oct- 17, 1933- J. c. MARsELLUs GASKET PEDESTAL Filed May 29, 1931 ffy Patented Oct. 17, 1933 GASKET PEDESTAL John Marsellus, Syracuse, N. Y.

Application May 29, 1931.` Serial No. 540,933

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a pedestal adapted to be used more particularly for supporting burial caskets and analogous objects for display purposes, but obviously may be used in many otherrelations Where it is desired to create a pleasing harmony or contrast of colors between the pedestal and object supported thereby, or other objects within the vicinity thereof. Y

It is well known that dirferent Gaskets are usually highly finished externally` in a wide variety of colors and materials including expensive fabrics and highly polished veneers in imitation or" different woods and marbles, and one oi" the objects of the present invention is to provide the pedestals with one or more removable panels which may be made, covered or veneered to correspond to the different external finishes of the caskets andA carried in stock to be easily and quickly applied to any of the preformed supporting frames of the pedestals so that panels of different styles or designs may be used upon the same supporting frame according to the iinisli of the article carried by the pedestal.

Another object is to provide standardized means whereby any one of the several styles or designs of panels may be easily and quickly applied to or removed from the frame of the pedestal.

One of the specific objects is to provide the pedestal frame with outwardly projecting bottom and topl flanges having means co-operating with the lower and upper ends of the panels for positively retaining the latter in operative position upon the frame when applied thereto, without liability of accidental displacement and at the same time permitting said panels to be easily and quickly removed radially by hand when desired.

Other specic objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is a perspective View on a reduced scale of a pedestal and panelsy therefor embodying the various features of my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken in the plane of line 2-2, Figure l. j

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional View taken in the plane of line 3 3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of one end of one of the removable panels.

Figure 5 is al perspective view of a portion of the pedestal frame and one of the detached panels ready for application to the frame.

Figure 6 shows perspective views of the parts of one of the locking devices for holding the panel in operative position.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail Vertical sectional view of the upper portion of one side of the pedestal showing more particularly the frictional interlocking members in operative engagement with each other.

ln'order that the invention may be clearly understood, l have shown a multisided tubular upright frame l having vertically spaced paraliel bottom and top walls 2 and 3 and a plurality of, in this instance four, upright side walls 5, of substantially equal area arranged about a common axis with adjacent edges juxtaposed and glued or otherwise secured to inner upright corner braces 6 and also to cuter corner posts or columns '7.

The outer faces of the adjacent edges of the side pieces 5 are substantially flat and disposed in a plane at an angle of substantially fortyive degrees to that ofthe side pieces so that the posts or corners will be disposed at a corresponding angle parallel with the inner faces of the corner braces 6 and that the main body of the frame is substantially octagonal in cross section. i

The lower end or bottom portion of the frame is provided with outwardly projecting flanges 3 between and preferably abutting against the adjacent portions of the posts or columns 7, said ilanges being glued or otherwise secured` to the outer faces of the lower ends of the side pieces 5 and to the corresponding edges of the bottom section 2 aswell as to the adjacent faces of the columns 7 to form a substantially unitary and rigid frame structure.

The top section 3 is octagonal in top plan and is secured by screws or equivalent fastening means 9 to the upper edges of the side'sections 5, said top section being extended outwardly some distance beyond the outer faces of the sides view by cup-shaped caps 11 having suitable spurs which are driven into the top section 3, said caps serving as wearing members for receiving land supportinga casket or other object in slightly spaced relation to the upper surface of the pedestal.

That is, the exposed surfaces of the top section 3 are usually covered with a decorated ma# terial 3 of fabric, enamel or veneering. of any suitable color or design which may be selected to correspond with the nishof the 'casket supported upon the pedestal, it being understood that the top section 3 may be easily removed by withdrawing the caps 1l and screws 9 so that the top section may be replaced b y othery sections of different external finish.

The main feature, however, of the invention consists in providing removabley panels 12 for one or all of the sides 5 of the pedestal frame in which each panel is made separate from the others and is provided with an outer covering of fabric, enamel or veneering finish to correspond to the finish of the casket supported upon the pedestal.

These panels 12 extend approximately the full distance between the upper face of the lower flanges 8 and upper flanges 10 of the top section 3, and also extend transversely the major portion of the distances between the corners 7 and are provided with convex outer surfaces to which the covering 12 is secured by glue or other fastening means.

The lower and upper ends of the panel sections 12 and adjacent portions of the flanges 6 and are providedwith cooperative interlocking connections capable of being easily and quickly detached to permit the panels to be removed and replaced by others of different finish when desired.

In order that the panels may -be easily removed and replaced the lower flanges 8 are provided in their upper sides with grooves 14 for receiving corresponding tongues 15 on the adjacent or lower ends of the corresponding panels, said grooves and tongues being arranged closely adjacent the outer faces of the upright side sections 5 as shown more clearlyin Figure 2.

In order that the grooves 14 and tongues 15 may be concealed, they are made of slightly less width than the main superposed portions of the panels and some distance within the upright edges thereof, whereby when each panel is placed in operative position with its tongue 15 in the corresponding groove 14, the superposed portions of the panel will rest directly upon the upper face of the adjacent flange 8 entirely around the outer wall and end walls of the grooves 14,

The device for locking the upper end of each panel in place comprises a bracket 16 having an upright portion secured by screws 16" to the outer face of the upper portion of the correspending side 5 of the frame, said bracket having its upper end provided with an outwardly projecting extension 16 returned inwardly at 17 to form a spring loop, the screwholes as 17' being elongated vertically to allow a limited vertical adjustment of the bracket 16.

rihe other locking member cooperatingr with the bracket 16 comprises a plate 18 secured by screws 19 to the upper edge of the corresponding panel 12 to extend inwardly directly over the offset 16 of the bracket 16 when the panel is adjusted for use, thel adjacent portion of -the inner side of the panel being recessed at 20- to receive the interengaging portions of the locking members 16 and 18. c

The inner end of the plate 18 is slightly curved upwardly at 18 to permit it to ride freely over and upon the upper face of the laterally projecting portion or tongue 16' of the bracket 16, as shown more clearly in Figure 7, the outer end of said plate being provided with a down-turned flange 21.

An additional spring plate 22 is riveted near its cuter end at 22 to the adjacent portion of the plate 18 to abut against the flange 21 for holdingthe plate 22 against turning movement.

This plate extends inwardly from the rivet 22 across the underside of the spring tongue 17 of the bracket 16 and has its innerl en d 23 curved downwardly to form a groove and to enable it against its own tension so that when the panel is adjusted for use with the tongue 15 in the groove 14, the inner ends of the upper and lower plates 13 and 22 will ride across and against the upper and lower faces of the lateral projection 16 of the bracket 16, thereby placing the inner ends of said plates under spring tension against the adjacent faces of said projection and at the same time placing the tongue 17 under more or less tension to frictionally hold the upper end of the panel against accidental outward displacement, but at thesame time permitting the upper end of the panel to be drawn outwardly by hand and then raised to disengage the tongue 15 from its groove 14 when removing the panel.

All of the panels are identical in construction and are, therefore, interchangeable, not only in the same pedestal, but in other pedestals, but obviously the surface covering of the several panels may be different according to the finish of the casket or to the wishes of the user,

Operation Assuming that the several sides of the base flanges 8 are provided-with the grooves 14 and that the brackets lvareproperly secured to the cuter faces of the upper ends of the corresponding sides 5 of the pedestal frame and also that the locking plate 18 with its spring tongue 22 are properly secured to the upper ends of their respective panels in operative position upon one or the other of the sides of the pedestal frame, the lower end of the said panel is then placed upon the upper face of the adjacent portion of the flange 8 with its tongue 15 in the groove 1.4.

The upper end of the panel is then forced inwardly by hand to cause the plates 18 and 22 to frictionally engage the lower and upper faces of the offset portions 1G of the brackets 16, in a manner shown more clearly in Figure 7, thereby frictionally holding the upper end of the panel against accidental outward displacement while the tongue 15 in the groove 14 performs a similar function for the lower end of the panel.

When removing the panel the operator engages the opposite edges of the upper portion thereof and draws the same outwardly until the plates 18 and 22 are disengaged from. the offset portion 16', whereupon the panel may be lifted upwardly a sufficient distance to disengage its tongue 15 from the groove 14, thus permitting the panel to be entirely removed from the pedestal frame.

The devices shown for holding the panel in its operative position and permitting it to be easily removed are particularly simple and efficient but Y obviously these locking devicesand also the partcular form.y of the panel may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claimist- A pedestal for supporting burial caskets and the like, comprising a multisided frame having lower and upper flanges projecting laterally beyond the outer faces of the upright sides, one of said flanges being provided with a series of grooves, one for each side, interchangeable panels,` each loosely applied to the outer face of one of the upright sides between said iianges and having one end inserted in the corresponding groove, andreleasable spring clasps for fastening the other ends of the panels to the adjacent portions of the sides of the frame.

JOHN C. MARSELLUS. 

